With its many institutes, temples and the flamboyant Pooram festival, Thrissur is Kerala's capital city of culture. Tucked away from the sea, Thrissur is situated in central Kerala. The Vadakkunnathan Temple dominates the landscape. Thrissur is actually built around the hill (locally called Round) that this temple to Shiva is on. Though dedicated predominantly to Shiva, there are some shrines to Vishnu and a Jain saint. Open to non-Hindus only during Pooram, this temple is renowned for it's richly carved timber roofs and the elaborate murals inside.
The most famous large church in Thrissur is the cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. The building is impressive. The Town Hall in an equally impressive building has an interesting collection of superb murals. The Archaeological Museum exhibits statues and models of temples. There is an Art Museum next to it that displays paintings, antique jewellery, and sculptures of the best kind.
The Zoo has a locally famous snake section but otherwise is quite a sorry place. The town Aquarium is more exciting.
Silent Valley National Park on the border with Tamil Nadu is a hidden verdant paradise and a city getaway from Thrissur. Virgin rainforest covers the area and in it are harboured over a hundred varieties of orchid. At 2000 meters, bordering the Kunthi River, this small sanctuary has a variety of flora and fauna. Some animals found here are the Nilgiri tahr, bison, and the black-faced Nilgiri langur.
Cheraturuthy (32 km), near the town of Shornur, has the Kerala Kalamandalam that promotes Keralan dance and theatre and almost single-handedly prevented the ritualised dance drama form of Kathakali from dying out. The oldest surviving theatre form in the world is Kuttiyattam. In Kerala Kalamandalam it is studied and performed. Legends like the director Peter Brook have come here to study the form.
Getting There and Around : The nearest airport is at Kochi. From Kochi to Thrissur is an easy 2-hour train journey. There are trains to Thrissur from Kochi, Kozhikode (3 hours approximately), Chennai. Many run eastwards through the Palakkad Gap to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The state transport and privately operated services have separate bus stops. State transport has a larger network
with buses to Chennai (13 hours), Thiruvananthapuram (8 hours), Kochi (3 hours), Kozhikode (3 hours), Kottayam and Palakkad (1 hours). Private buses have frequent services to places close by like Guruvayur and small towns like Mallapuram and Shornur near which the Kerala Kalamandal that revived dying arts like Kathakali is. It's possible to rent your own car with driver in Thrissur. Black and yellow taxis and auto-rickshaws ply the roads of Thrissur. It's possible to hire a chauffeured car also. This makes sense especially if you are planning to explore the towns in the surrounding countryside. All distances and directions are calculated from the Round, the hill atop which is the Vadakkunnathan Temple.
Accommodation: 5-star hotels are yet to set up shop at Thrissur. The available range is mid-rung and budget. Most places, regardless of the bracket into which they fall, are comfortable and pleasant. Most mid-rung hotels have air-conditioned rooms and their own restaurants.
Fare wise and ware wise, the range in Thrissur is pretty satisfactory. The larger hotels have fairly good restaurants with air-conditioning. South Indian food is easily the most readily available, but north Indian cuisine and Chinese food (though what lands up on your table may fox a man from Canton or Szechwan) can be had too. Makeshift stalls serving snacks come up at the Round in the evenings.
When to go: The time to visit Thrissur is during the 8-day Pooram festival extravaganza in April-May. It has all the ingredients of Indian merrymaking. Bedecked elephants, bejewelled women and others join the procession to the temple accompanied by the booming rhythm of beating drums. Join the procession to the Temple if you are in Thrissur during the Pooram festival. With fireworks, elephants, rolling drums and trumpeting, there is a lot of fun to be had. The Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy often hosts performances of classical music, theatre, and dance recitals.
In August-September boat races are held during the Kerala festival of Onam. You can also check out unique mime form of Pulikali where people dress up as and imitate the tiger. Performances are held during this time.
Climate: The warm months of April-May are quite uncomfortable and it can get incredibly humid just before the rains break in June. Once the monsoon hits, everything cools. Weather-wise the best months are October-February.
Shopping: Local handicrafts are textiles, brass work, bell-metal curios and fabulously crafted gold ornaments. Thrissur also produces beautiful silks. The shopping areas are at the bottom of the temple hill, in the Round where you can easily pick some great Keralan craft pieces.
For more State and Visitor information, see Kerala.
